Reporting occurrence of an event in a mobile communication network

1. A method performed by a data collection function in a mobile communication network, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first network analytics function, a first request to monitor and report occurrences of a first event;

determining a first type of network function that supports reporting an occurrence of the first event;

transmitting, to at least one network function of the first type, a second request to monitor and report occurrences of the first event;

relaying one or more reports of the occurrence of the first event from the at least one network function to the first network analytics function;

receiving a third request from a second network analytics function to monitor and report occurrences of a second event;

determining that the second event and the first event target a same device or a same area of interest, or both; and

relaying the one or more reports of the occurrence of the first event from the at least one network function to the second network analytics function.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second request to the at least one network function comprises transmitting a subscription request to each network function of the first type in the mobile communication network to monitor and report occurrences of the first event.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the first request comprises receiving a list of one or more events, wherein the first event is contained within the list.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

identifying one or more additional types of network functions that monitor and report occurrences for all events in the list; and

transmitting a subscription request to each network function of the identified one or more additional types of network functions to monitor and report occurrences of an event in the list.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a network function profile from a network function in the mobile communication network, the network function profile indicating a list of one or more monitoring events supported by the network function.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein determining identifying the first type of network function comprises determining the first type from the network function profile.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second request contains a subscription identifier received from the first network analytics function, wherein relaying the one or more reports of occurrence of monitoring events from the at least one network function to the first network analytics function comprises:

receiving an event notification that includes the subscription identifier; and

forwarding the event notification to the network function associated with the subscription identifier.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second request comprises a notification message to monitor and publish the occurrence of the first event.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein transmitting sending the second request to the at least one network function comprises transmitting, sending, by a data collection function, a notification message to each network function in the mobile communication network that subscribed with the data collection function to report the occurrence of the first event.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a fourth request from the second network analytics function to monitor and report occurrences of the second event, wherein the first type of network function reports occurrence of the second event; and

transmitting, to the at least one network function of the first type, a request to modify an existing monitoring subscription to monitor and report occurrences of the second event and occurrences of the first event.

11. A network apparatus comprising a data collection function, the network apparatus further comprising:

a memory; and

a processor coupled with the memory and configured to cause the data collection function to:

receive, from a first network analytics function, a first request to monitor and report occurrences of a first event;

determine a first type of network function that supports reporting an occurrence of the first event;

transmit, to at least one network function of the first type, a second request to monitor and report occurrences of the first event;

relay one or more reports of the occurrence of the first event from the at least one network function to the first network analytics function;

receive a third request from a second network analytics function to monitor and report occurrences of a second event;

determine that the second event and the first event target a same device or a same area of interest, or both; and

relay the one or more reports of the occurrence of the first event from the at least one network function to the second network analytics function.

12. The network apparatus of claim 11 , wherein to transmit the second request to the at least one network function, the processor is configured to cause the data collection function to cause the data collection function to transmit a subscription request to each network function of the first type in a mobile communication network to monitor and report occurrences of the first event.

13. The network apparatus of claim 11 , wherein to receive the first request, the processor is configured to cause the data collection function to cause the data collection function to receive a list of one or more events, wherein the first event is contained within the list.

14. The network apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the data collection function to:

identify one or more additional types of network functions that monitor and report occurrences for all events in the list; and

transmit a subscription request to each network function of the identified one or more additional types of network functions to monitor and report occurrences of an event in the list.

15. The network apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the data collection function to receive, from a network function in a mobile communication network, a network function profile indicating a list of one or more monitoring events supported by the network function.

16. The network apparatus of claim 15 , wherein to determine the first type of network function, the processor is configured to cause the data collection function to cause the data collection function to determine the first type from the network function profile.

17. The network apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the second request contains a subscription identifier received from the first network analytics function, wherein to relay the one or more reports of the occurrence of monitoring events from the at least one network function to the first network analytics function, the processor is configured to cause the data collection function to cause the data collection function to:

receive an event notification that includes the subscription identifier; and

forward, the event notification to the network function associated with the subscription identifier.

18. The network apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the second request comprises a notification message to monitor and publish the occurrence of the first event.

19. The network apparatus of claim 18 , wherein to transmit the second request to the at least one network function, the processor is configured to cause the data collection function to cause the data collection function to transmit a notification message to each network function in a mobile communication network that subscribed with the data collection function to report the occurrence of the first event.

20. The network apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the data collection function to:

receive a fourth request from the second network analytics function to monitor and report occurrences of the second event, wherein the first type of network function reports occurrence of the second event; and

transmit, to the at least one network function of the first type, a request to modify an existing monitoring subscription to monitor and report occurrences of the second event and occurrences of the first event.